Tidal flooding still a concern for Norfolk residents

Norfolk, Va. – Neighbors who live at 5th Bay Street in Norfolk had to wade through the water again Friday – this after tidal flooding sent rising water into their community, threatening their homes and cars.

“I was told when I moved here there was a problem with flooding, but never in my wildest dreams did I believe this,” said Lizzette Basnight who lives in the neighborhood.

NewsChannel 3 was there Thursday when several neighbors had to walk through knee-high water to get to their homes. A day later, the water wasn’t quite as high, but it was still deep enough around high tide that it kept Basnight from venturing out.

“We’ve been going out, we’ve had to park and walk back down with no shoes or socks on. It’s an inconvenience – with bags. So it’s an inconvenience – you don’t want to drive through it. It’s just too deep,” said Basnight.

Basnight says the water is also unsafe to walk in. In her four months of living in the community, she’s never seen flooding that bad, but several of her neighbors say they have. Basnight says City of Norfolk crews have driven through the area this week, but she’s calling on the city to take action and do more to fix the flooding problem from happening again.

“I hope that whatever’s causing it, that they fix it. If not, we’re going to have to invest in a canoe,” said Basnight.